Auto Shows-Museums

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Luftgekühlt 9: Beauty at the beast

Luftgekühlt, which translates from German to “air-cooled,” is a pilgrimage for dedicated Porsche fans. It showcases the best of what many consider to be Porsche’s Golden Years — the air-cooled period. Luft 9 highlights the fastest, most prestigious air-cooled products from Porsche’s 1931 founding leading up to the discontinuation of the air-cooled 911 in 1998. For the first time Luftgekühlt, often shortened to Luft 9, offered back-to-back days to commemorate all Porsches without regard to door count, means of cooling, motorsport success, and more. Air | Water exhibits vehicles from the Pre-A era to 992 — Mezger 997’s, Carrera GT’s, GT3 Tourings — alongside their classic counterparts. It did so with the mentality the venue makes the event. Mare Island’s

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2022 LA Auto Show: A look back in images

The recently concluded 2022 LA Auto Show featured its annual array of new cars with new colors and plenty of innovation as the industry moves toward all-electric mandates. As always, there were automotive surprises — some good, others awful. A smaller show welcomed the media and the public for 10 days at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The absence of recent mainstays, Rivian and Tesla, as examples, was part of the show’s smaller stature. Manufacturers had more room to display their new editions. Subaru presented its usual lineup of utilitarian, all-wheel-drive sedans and SUVs. And the manufacturer, which markets its vehicles for owners who have dogs, again created a national park-type setting with a few dogs on site to attract

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Velocity Invitational: Mario Andretti, epic races, big crowds

LAGUNA SECA – The Velocity Invitational, a motorsports festival held Oct. 14-16 at WeatherTech Raceway, was a nod to the adage that good things come in threes. First, there was living legend Mario Andretti, 82, behind the wheel of a modern Formula 1 car for the first time. Second was exciting split-second race finishes that thrilled the crowd of more than 15,000. Third was the tens of millions of dollars worth of vintage race and hypercars gracing the track. It made the Velocity Invitational one of the country’s more unique motorsports experiences. While the three-day event featured hundreds of vehicles across 10 different groups and classifications, it wasn’t hard to argue Andretti’s turn on the raceway was the highlight for

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#230, Bruce Meyer, ’32 Fords and the Petersen Auto Museum

Bruce Meyer loves 1932 Fords. He owns 10. It may seem excessive unless you’re a founding member of the Petersen Auto Museum in Los Angeles and it just unveiled an exhibition honoring the 90th anniversary of the vehicles and their iconic legacy as hot rods. Meyer, 90, founding chairman of the museum, is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with Meyer the country’s most well-known museum and its celebration of the cars often known by their moniker, “Deuce.” The exhibit began earlier in June with a celebration and honor given to Billy Gibbons, the lead guitarist and primary vocalist of the rock band ZZ Top. Gibbons is also a Deuce

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#226, Newport Car Museum visionary Gunther Buerman

Approaching its fifth anniversary, the Newport Car Museum is the largest automotive museum in New England. It celebrates seven decades of modern industrial car design represented in more than 85 vehicles. It’s all the vision of owners Gunther and Maggie Buerman. The couple, who live in Highland Beach, Florida, and Newport, R.I., opened the museum in 2017. It’s located about 20 miles north of Newport in Portsmouth. Gunther Buerman, originally from Mannheim, Germany, moved as a young boy with his family to New York. His interest in automobiles began when he practiced wax paper transfer etchings of car advertisements from National Geographic Magazine. He was willed a 1966 Ford Mustang convertible in the mid-1980s from an uncle and his passion

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#221, Modern car icon Carl Benz will get inventing honor

German engineer Carl Benz was the first to design a car around the internal combustion engine rather than adding an engine to an existing wagon or carriage, a critical insight in auto evolution. Benz, who died in 1929, is often called the inventor of the modern automobile. With six additional luminaries, all patent holders whose inventions range from cataract surgery to the Super Soaker will be honored as part of the latest class of National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) inductees. Rini Paiva, the NIHF executive vice president for selection and recognition, is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with Paiva the selection of Benz to this year’s inductees. We

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#199, Terry Gale, curator of Rambler Ranch in rural Colorado

A minute’s drive from County Rd. 21 in the Elizabeth, Colo., Rambler Ranch is perched in a clearing of trees on the outskirts of the small town about 45 miles southeast of Denver. It’s a secluded museum of Americana, a life’s work for Terry Gale as a remembrance of family and the iconic automobiles of yesteryear. Gale, 60, didn’t plan to own the world’s largest collection of Nash, Rambler and AMC vehicles. But in 30-plus years he’s cultivated an unequaled collection of the small vehicles originally produced inexpensively for the post World War II economy. A lot happened to the long-ago defunct vehicles and life has changed for Gale, too. He started with his father’s 1954 Nash Ambassador and he

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Monterey Auto Week returned to glory with cars galore

Monterey Auto Week has a problem, and it’s about as good as it gets. After a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19, the return edition ended Sunday, August 15 with the 70th anniversary of the Concours d’Elegance. It was the grand finale to a now 10-day occasion of about 30 events. And therein the issue for automotive enthusiasts gathering on the Monterey Peninsula: Where do we go and what do we all do first? How do we prioritize? Isn’t it great to have choices? Bruce Aldrich and I have represented The Weekly Driver website and podcast at Monterey Auto Week for several years. I’ve attended various auto shows, racing, auctions and related events on the peninsula since 1987 while contributing content

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Monterey Auto Week: sensory overload for all things cars

Monterey Auto Week is the umbrella name for all things automotive collectively presented for 10 days during mid-August. It all began with the Pebble Beach Road Race in 1950. The races were called “The Del Monte Trophy” and were held on the twisty, leafy and narrow Pebble Beach roads. The series lasted until 1956. The Concours d’Elegance, now the world-renowned finale to international collections of races, rallies, auctions, memorabilia and car debuts, began as an afterthought. Now, Monterey Auto Week attendees have to make decisions. Where does a visitor go first? How many events can be taken in on any given day? Here’s a calendar of events for the 2021 edition of Monterey Auto Week. For details of events, click

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#191, Monterey Auto Week tuned up, ready for restart

A few events have been amended,  few postponed for another year. But by any name, Monterey Auto Week to Classic Car Week, and with events from The Little Car Show to the Concours d’Elegance, it’s back. The all-encompassing showcase of automobiles and many related areas returns after a one-year COVID-19 hiatus. The festivities begin August 6 and continue through August 15 at multiple locations throughout the Monterey Peninsula. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James it all during this Episode #191 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. We’ll be on-site for four days beginning Aug. 9. Plans include a podcast from the Concours on the Avenue in Carmel (Aug. 10) and The Little Car Show (Aug. 11) in Pacific Grove. Aston Martin will

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Kaiser Darrin, 1954: Best Of Show At Concours On The Avenue

It was one of the first cars I noticed, and after looking at an estimated 200 other vehicles, the 1954 Kaiser Darrin was still my favorite at the recently concluded Monterey Auto Week. The Concours on the Avenue in Carmel was only presented for the second year in 2008. But it has come into its own, particularly with cars like the Darrin Owner John Nirenstein of Tiburon, California, showcased it on Tuesday, Aug. 12, the second day of the event. Kaiser Darrin: Art Decco on wheels Nirenstein, participating in the event for the first time. He bought the car 10 years ago and took 22 months to restore it. While soft jazz played in the background, the car got plenty

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Car travel is great for spontaneity but plan anyway

COLLABORATIVE CONTENT If you have a car and want to go on a road trip, you’re lucky. Particularly considering the current complicated global epidemiological situation, being the road seems like a great luxury — whether it’s locally or across the country. Before traveling, however, making sure your car is in proper condition and that you have a plan can mean the difference between a successful and unsuccessful journey. Being prepared will help prevent any potential problems — like getting stuck in the “middle of nowhere.” Car travel has a wide range of advantages. If you haven’t tried it yet because you’re overwhelmed with assignments, it’s time to examine EduBirdie reviews and gain time travel without stress. Traveling by car has

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LA Auto Show back after two Covid-19 delays

The LA Auto Show has a unique position in the automotive industry. It’s the yearly first major industry show to view new cars, trucks and occasionally motorhomes. It’s always held in November, except for when it was supposed to be held this spring. LA Auto Show: Back A Year Later But the coronavirus has altered the show again. After being rescheduled from last November to May, the pending spring dates have also been scrapped for a return to November. With a two-day Auto Mobility media event as its preamble, the public show is scheduled Nov. 19-28 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Dozens of manufacturers annually either have global debuts or North American debuts of new models, the much-touted Rivian

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Auction set: 2021 Ford Bronco, Mustang Mach 1

The first 2021 Ford Bronco 2-door (VIN 001) and first 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 (VIN 001), two highly coveted vehicles, will be auctioned for charity by Ford Motor Company and Barrett-Jackson at the Scottsdale Auction at WestWorld of Scottsdale, March 20-27, 2021. One-hundred percent of the winning from the Ford Bronco VIN 001 will benefit National Forest Foundation and Outward Bound. Both are part of the new Bronco Wild Fund mission to connect people to the outdoors. The total sale price of the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 VIN 001 will benefit JDRF, the non-profit organization’s efforts against type 1 diabetes. Auto Icons: Ford Bronco, Ford Mustang “The 2021 Ford Bronco 2-door VIN 001 and 2021 Mustang Mach 1

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Tiny cars display shows big world of small wonders

Pickup trucks and SUVs rule the automotive landscape. Bigger is better. More horsepower and torque equate to sales. But it all means very little to tiny car enthusiasts. For mini, micro, pedal & toy cars owner great things come in small packages. The Audrain Automotive Museum, located in Newport, Rhode Island, recently announced its newest exhibit dedicated to tiny vehicles. The “Small Wonders: Mini, Micro, Pedal & Toy Cars” will open November 21 and continue through February 14, 2021. The BMW Isetta, Fiat’s quirky 500 Jolly, a Nash Metropolitan and a Peel P50 are among the more well-known micro cars scheduled to be on display. But the exhibit will also feature experimental cars, concepts and race cars. Besides gas-powered vehicles,

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#151, Interstate 80 museum honors military history

About halfway between Sacramento and San Francisco, travelers on Interstate 80 can visit an iconic brewery, renowned confectionery or an indoor-outdoor homage to military transportation within minutes. But a full day’s visit to one or any combination of the attractions is warranted. The setting is a trio of museums all located within a few-mile radius on farmland off frontage roads in Fairfield, an agricultural hub in Solano County. The Anheuser-Busch facility doesn’t have much in common with Jelly Belly or the American Armory Museum. But the latter two destinations share much. Geoff Lippman, the military museum’s general manager and curator, is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Lippman discusses the history of the museum, its ever-expanding collection

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